Police Investigating Possible Child Abuse
Complaint Filed Against School for 'Telling Not to Come to Work'
A teacher at an elementary school in Seoul has been experiencing difficulties at work due to ongoing protests following a child abuse report filed by a parent. Although the police investigation is still underway and no child abuse has been confirmed, the teacher has been separated from the student by the school and excluded from homeroom duties.
On the 20th, the Seoul Teachers' Union stated in a press release, "On April 12, a parent, Mr. B, of Onsu Elementary School in Seoul reported teacher Mr. A for school violence, claiming that Mr. A strangled their child." The school responded by separating teacher Mr. A and parent Mr. B’s child according to related manuals such as the "Child Abuse Prevention and Response Guidelines" issued by the Ministry of Education.
It is known that Mr. B initially requested a change of their child's class but later changed the demand to replace teacher Mr. A as the homeroom teacher. Mr. B also applied to the court for separation measures between Mr. A and their child, but the request was dismissed in May.
Subsequently, teacher Mr. A was excluded from homeroom duties and took personal sick leave, not attending work. When the second semester began this year, Mr. A returned to school as a subject teacher, but parent Mr. B reportedly made protest calls to the school, questioning why Mr. A had returned to work.
However, the police investigation is still ongoing. The Seoul Teachers' Union explained, "The police investigation related to child abuse is currently underway, and no final determination of child abuse has been made." They added, "Parent Mr. B filed a malicious complaint on the National Petition Board titled 'The school’s complacent response to the reinstatement of the child abuse teacher at Onsu Elementary School.'
The Seoul Teachers' Union also stated, "The teacher has denied strangling the student and wanted to meet the parent directly to explain, but the parent has refused any meeting." They added, "The teacher bravely returned to the classroom but told the union that they feel frustrated and depressed due to the parent's complaints preventing even their attendance at work."
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is currently preparing measures to respond to indiscriminate child abuse reports against teachers, including implementing a 'One School, One Lawyer System' and establishing a 'Child Abuse and Educational Activity Protection Rapid Response Team (SEM119)' at education support offices, which is expected to be launched as early as next month.
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